[Maflynn]

I use my laptop primarily on my lap (hense the term laptop ) but with the macbook, it does get a little toasty after a few hours of use.

I have not gotten up the nerve to reapply the thermal grease and based upon this link macdevcenter ( the link seems to be down check back later) I suppose the results may be negligable.

Anyways what solutions are available for keeping the laptop on some sort of pad/plastic platform that will sit on my lap.

I googled laptop coolers and came up with some but most are rather larget and well unwieldly. I'm not sure what would work best but I'm thinking something that is based on convection may be a good idea, i'd rather not want to have fans, or lose a usb port.

If anyone has any recommendations please let me know.

Thanks in advance

[sknapp351]

I use a large book. Works well, and didn't cost me anything.
SAm

[Charles Bouldin]

Look at
http://www.climator.com/passivecooling.html

Or search on "climator" or "phase change" on these boards. This cools the laptop and insulates your lap. Passive and silent.

[finboy]

Coolpad. Used to be sold by Roadtools. The original works great, but it may be a little small for newer laptops. I use it with my HP ok though. MacAlly used to make a fold-out, as I recall.

[tooki]

Accessory threads like this go in Peripherals, please.

tooki

[ghporter]

My wife puts her iBook on a regular mouse pad so it's off the desk surface and gets more airflow. Of course, that won't help on your lap, but I can point out that the desk itself doesn't get terribly warm under that mouse pad. Anything that is insulating will help keep the heat from the computer from getting to you. I've used newspapers for extended periods and it's worked fine.

[ccwillows]

Kingwin makes a laptop cooler that I have been using. It uses fans, but the speed is adjustable to near silent. It has the benefit of being an 8 slot media reader as well as a 3 port usb2 hub.

Beyond the fact that it looks tacky, it is functional and inexpensive. I purchased mine at mwave.com.

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec....iteria=AA43520

Chris

[spblat]

Hi folks:

As I wait for my MacBook to arrive, I'm thinking of ways to make it last longer. My Dell laptop's drive croaked after two years, no doubt from the heat. And while swapping drives, I was surprised at how incredibly hot it gets inside there.

So I want to help my MacBook's drive last longer while it sits on my desk, and the Xpad4Laptop seems interesting along with the other options listed above. But while it looks like a simple and worthwhile product, they've harassed a reviewer who didn't love it unconditionally, and so I'm having second thoughts. From what I've read, here are the options:

1. Coolpad, $20. Cheap and apparently effective. This is the one I'm leaning toward. Lots of unambiguous, glowing reviews. But is the pivot annoying? I just want it to sit stationary on my desk!
2. Xpad4Laptop. Looks cool, more expensive, possibly funky marketing practices.
3. Fan-based solutions. No thanks. There are enough fans in my office already.
4. Climator "phase change" conductive pad.

Please pontificate! Heat transfer is the name of the game. Is the convection (if any) set up by #1 and #2 better than the conduction that would take place with the laptop in physical contact with my desk or #4?

EDITED TO ADD:
All those stories about Jim at Roadtools are true. His quick and helpful response to the e-mail I sent him this morning means I'll try the Podium CoolPad. I'll post back with my impressions once I have it.

[spblat]

Coolpad podium. Simple. Stable. Rock solid. Well made. I found my winner!